Hear me smile
by Iluvenis Telperien
Summary: //One-shot// Ever felt that life sucked?


Hear me smile

Disclaimers: Okay, fine! Slam Dunk belongs to Takehiko Inoue… *scowls*

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How many times have you felt that life is not worth living? How many times have you grouched that your religion does nothing to help you? How many times did you think that no one loves you? How many times did you complain that you didn't have the good looks?

How many times have you looked at those who did not fare as well as you did?

Do you always pity yourself?

One-shot

The brightest spot on the green hills did not make any difference to him. The blazing sun over his head did not make him feel any warmer. 

Mitsui felt cold.

No, he had not contracted diseases of any sort, but the fact was, he had just broke up with his girlfriend, who had decided that he is not the one for her. He had tried to convince her that he loved her, but received none but a cold remark from her for him to get lost. 

He knew that it's not the end of the world, and he knew that he could always start afresh. He was, after all, only twenty-five years old. But alas! The woes of the wounded male ego!

With pretty much bruised emotions, Mitsui sat down on his favourite slab of rock at the top of the hill that he always liked to go to. He came here with his girlfriend, no, make that his "ex-girlfriend", for many times during their passionate times. They had watched the sunrise, the sunset; they had admired the stars and sung to the moon. Oh, it seemed romantic, even now. But the memories were history. 

It seemed to hurt worse.

"The view is always better here, isn't it?" A silvery voice roused him from his miserable muses. 

It was a girl, sitting in a wheelchair. A large shaggy dog sat obediently beside her and watched him cautiously. He could not see her eyes, which were masked by a pair of stylish sunglasses. Her complexion was pale. She smiled, facing the horizon where the sun was setting. 

"Hello, I just moved here last month," She smiled brilliantly.

"Hi," He answered carefully, "I'm Mitsui Hisashi. Resident of the nearby housing district for the whole of my life,"

She laughed, appearing to be quite amused, "That's interesting. Oh, meet my dog, Mop."

A second look at the dog made Mitsui laugh. It certainly did look like a mop. Covered in long white dreadlocks, the dog looked like an oversized doormat. He was pretty sure that it was a Komondor dog. 

"Komondor?"

"Yes, you are smart!" She grinned at him, patting Mop affectionately, "I had him since he was a pup. Don't you think he's such a beauty?"

"Nice hair, he had," Mitsui couldn't help but comment. The dog looked amusingly comical with his eyes covered in lengthy strands of hair. 

"I could hear your smile. It's warm, passionate and caring…"

Hear his smile? Mitsui looked at her, openly puzzled. She sensed his doubts and took off her sunglasses. Two large, almond-shaped brown eyes – beautiful, but they were sightless. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. 

"I was blind for all fifteen years of my life," She told him, "And lost my legs in a traffic accident. I couldn't see the car coming."

"Oh," He muttered, "Oh."

"My parents then got Mop for me, they decided that a dog would be more reliable than a chatty nanny," She beamed at him, eyes curving up into cheerful crescents, "Boy, I was lucky! Aunt Hinako does yak so much, I couldn't stand her,"

"You are mighty cheerful," He moved closer to her.

"Onii-san," She looked solemnly at him, "Am I supposed to brood?"

"I rather you remain cheerful," He patted her head, "But even if you brood, I wouldn't be surprised,"

"Life is beautiful. I can't see, but I could see the colours in my head. I know that the grass is lively, cheerful, cool, strong – green, is it?"

"Hm," He was astounded by her sanguinity.

"I could feel many other colours too. Red, yellow, blue, violet… colours of the rainbow…" 

"Oh,"

"Do you like basketball?"

"Of course," His eyes lit up at the subject of his favourite sport, "I played shooting guard in my high school days,"

"That's wonderful. I loved the texture of basketball, and I loved the way the leather felt against my palms – no, not the synthetic rubber, those are horribly rough. I'm talking about… argh, how do you put that?"

"Those are the original basketballs that the NBA players used," He admired the way she noticed the tiniest details, "I liked the genuine leather basketballs too,"

"That's right… I could not shoot, though. I could hear the players. Could hear the solid thumping of the ball against the ground. The 'swish' when the ball went in… It drives my adrenaline."

"Ah,"

"No, I don't see anything wrong with my life, I still owned my freedom, and Mop,"

He stroked her head tenderly, feeling the silky texture beneath his fingers. He was supposed to be ten years older than she is, but her optimism and passion for life made him feel twenty years younger.

It all seemed brighter now, he realized. He had his life, his parents, his siblings, and basketball. What more could he ask for? Mitsui looked at the fading golden line to the horizon. Life is beautiful. He walked further out and took a deep breath of the evening air. "I love life," He spoke aloud.

She wasn't there when he turned back. Thinking that she might have left because it was getting late, Mitsui decided that he would return home as well. 

It was only when his mother told him the story, that Mitsui knew that…

Five years before he was born, a handicapped little girl had died of heart failure atop the hill. Her guide dog, a large white Komondor, died a week later. His body was found on the spot where she had died. 

["…I don't see anything wrong with my life. I still owned my freedom…"]

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Have you observed the bright colours of life? Did you notice the little flower by your path? Have you heard the winds sing?


End file.
